Ruckus Brings Together Smart Wi-Fi with Cloud Computing to Simplify the Provisioning, Management and Monetization of Wi-Fi Access with SAMS

The Ruckus Team at Uniquepos is really excited about the introduction of Ruckus’ Cloud-Based Smart Access Management Service, SAMS for short. The ability to manage a Wi-Fi network in the cloud is yesterday’s news. Unlike the dozens of other offerings already in the market, SAMS enables partners to manage and monetize the access points they have deployed from the cloud, saving the expense of on-premise controllers and servers and monetizing these networks by collecting analytics and layering on custom other services. The first of a new breed of Ruckus Smart Wireless Services (SWS), SAMS enhances the guest experience by letting businesses quickly create and customize wireless hotspots for single or multiple sites without building extensive data centers, or deploying expensive and cumbersome infrastructure typically required for offering managed Wi-Fi access services. SWS is a flexible framework for layering value-added software services, such as cloud-based wireless access (SAMS) and Ruckus SPoT location services, as well as virtualized management software over carrier-class Smart Wi-Fi infrastructure products and platforms to give organizations unprecedented flexibility to build reliable, scalable and robust Smart Wi-Fi solutions based on their specific requirements, and to enable channel partners to easily migrate to recurring revenue-based service models. As WLAN management shifts to the cloud, venue owners now have access to cost-effective, easy-to-manage enterprise-grade wireless at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). SAMS delivers flexible deployment and management options through a simple, Web-based portal that allows highly customized Wi-Fi access services to be defined and created in a matter of minutes, and provided at a low TCO. Unlike other public wireless access alternatives, SAMS combines all the necessary infrastructure components and service elements into a single solution. Ideal for any organization or venue offering managed public wireless access, such as shopping malls, stadiums, convention centers, airports and retail outlets, SAMS transforms the traditional model for offering managed Wi-Fi services by moving local network infrastructure, such as WLAN controllers, authentication servers, captive portals, advertising engines and content filtering into the cloud as a service. Tailored for venues looking to more easily and conveniently offer users a better wireless access experience without the need for multiple services from multiple vendors and extensive IT staff or infrastructure equipment at every site, SAMS also represents a compelling new managed services opportunity for channel partners looking to become managed service providers (MSPs), by creating recurring service revenues with minimal investment. From a single, easy-to-navigate Web-based console in SAMS, channel partners can now easily create, customize and manage a wireless access service on behalf of a wide range of customers. SAMS can be set up and managed either by the channel partner or the customer’s own staff with a minimum level of IT expertise, through the use of intuitive Web-based management tools, including flexible and customizable advertising tools that are simple and easy to create and set-up. Once the service is configured through a simple wizard driven setup, Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi access points automatically “phone home” to register with the cloud controller. However, unlike other cloud-based Wi-Fi services, if the access points can’t reach the cloud controller, local access services are not disrupted. Ongoing management of SAMS and monitoring of access points and clients, along with historical reporting, is provided through a comprehensive network portal that gives administrators a wide range of controls, such as creating AP zones, templates and management domains for different customers. SAMS works transparently with your already deployed Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi access points and/or on-premises Ruckus ZoneDirector WLAN controllers for unmatched deployment flexibility, compared with existing hotspot services. All requisite authentication services, WLAN administration and service management tools are integrated directly within SAMS. When configuring SAMS, customers have complete control over service branding and functionality, such as the ability to enable authentication with popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Service enforcement controls can be used to limit the length and number of sessions, restrict bandwidth consumption or filter access to specific content. To further customize access services and enrich the user experience, SAMS provides a rich set of user analytics that can be collected over periods of time. Each venue is provided with a view into their wireless access service from a single Web-based dashboard. From this dashboard, customers have at-a-glance information, such as popular registration methods, total user sessions and visits, new and returning user visits, registration by device type, age group and gender, and the most popular devices being used on the network, as well as the average duration of user sessions. The process to enable managed wireless access with SAMS is simple. Once logged into the service portal, customers simply create a new site, configure access settings, customize the registration page and user journey and upload any ads or messages to be displayed.